Before And After
by turbomagnus
Summary: It had been false, meant to fool Tsuruko, but in the end Keitaro and Motoko were the fools, it turned out to be all so real. Kei/Moto


Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu owns Love Hina and I don't, he makes money from it and I don't... he thinks Kei/Naru is a good couple and I don't, so as you can no doubt tell by this point, I'm not Ken Akamatsu, I don't own Love Hina and the characters and locations are used without permission for non-profit entertainment purposes.

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"Before And After"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

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It had been false, meant to fool Motoko's older sister, but in the end Keitaro and Motoko herself were the fools, it turned out to be all so real. Tsuruko had insisted that her being at the Hinata shouldn't keep her sister from her normal activities with her boyfriend, which resulted in them being almost forced out into the city on a date. Unable to know if Tsuruko would be keeping track of them in some manner, they found themselves in the uncomfortable situation of actually having to go on the date. Dinner had been enjoyable, Keitaro had called in a favor that Haitani owed him to call in a favor that Haitani himself was owed to get them reservations at a restaraunt that was surprisingly classier than Motoko had expected from any association with Keitaro's friends and the movie that followed was to both their tastes, which is to say that each of them could enjoy and alternately mock certain elements of it as the movie was about a professional student-turned-treasure hunter having to find and protect pieces of an ancient weapon from a cult that wanted to use it to conquer the world. The walk back to the Hinata had been quiet, but comfortable, and thought-provoking on both their parts, it was after they had arrived at the Inn that things reached the point upon which futures would be decided...

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It was a little after midnight and they were standing in the third floor corridor of the Hinata Inn, Keitaro in the middle of the hall itself while Motoko stood to one side, her back towards the door of her room.

"So," Keitaro rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I guess I'll see you later?"

Motoko looked at him amusedly, "You do live here as well."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "I guess I do. Uh... well... goodnight?"

She still had a slight smile on her face as she nodded, "Goodnight, Keitaro-san."

The two of them stood there for a moment, Motoko blinked slowly as Keitaro shuffled his feet; then they both turned, Keitaro to go down the hall to the stairs and Motoko to enter her room. Halfway down the hall, he paused and put a hand on the wall to steady himself.

'It was a date, even if Tsuruko compelled us to go on it... and I enjoyed it. I know there's supposed to be rules about it, but we're supposed to have been dating for a while now, I wonder if I should have kissed her or something,' Keitaro thought as he stood there, unbidden images of himself kissing Motoko, pushing her back against her door to let it support them both as their lips and bodies pressed together, 'But... I love Naru, don't I? And how would Motoko have taken it, what would she have done?'

He couldn't see her watching through the door that she hadn't fully closed yet.

'Did I do something wrong?' Motoko asked herself guiltily, 'Even if it was my sister's fault, I thought tonight's date... I thought that a good date is supposed to be closed with a kiss, Keitaro-san... Even if you aren't as lecherous as I would accuse you of being, why wouldn't you take the chance? Have I done that much damage to the possibility of anything between us?'

A primal part of her mind brought up thoughts of what could have happened if he had kissed her, pushing her up against the wall with her on the edge of losing her self-control and ready to fall, all the things she would have gladly let him do to her if he had pushed her over the edge and made her lose that control. Slowly, as if unsure of her control over her own body, Motoko closed the door and turned the lock, unable to remove her hand from the doorknob as that would mean that the night was officially over.

As he stood there lost in thought, somewhere deep inside Keitaro something awoke, some feeling of self-respect and inner power that had been long suppressed mixed with the determination that had driven him for so long and the combination started a fire that burned away his doubts and his fears, leaving something else behind and he turned, starting back towards Motoko's door.

She felt more than heard his approach and before he could knock she had turned the lock and met him face-to-face in the doorway. The two of them stood there for a moment, looking deeply into each other's eyes. Then, a second later, they were flying into each other's arms; a hand on her hips, a hand on his shoulder, a hand behind her head, a hand on his arm, lips meeting passionately. After a few moments, Keitaro started to pull away, but Motoko moved her hand from his arm to the front of his shirt, pulling him into her room. With a look into her eyes to make sure that this was what she really wanted, Keitaro took his hand off her shoulder and shut the door behind them before, using the grip she still had on his shirt, Motoko guided him away from the door and turned them both, putting herself between him and the wall...

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It was several days later when Tsuruko Aoyama stood on the steps leading up to the Hinata Inn looking to Naru Narusagawa like the angel with the flaming sword barring the way to the Garden of Eden from Christian religion, even with her sword still resting in its sheath at her side.

"Foolish, fickle little girl," Tsuruko spoke harshly, "You didn't want him when he wanted you. He's found another love, it's her he's dreaming of, and there's not a single thing that you can do."

"But I love him," Naru tried to explain, "I finally realised that."

"Do you love him? Or is it just a matter of pride? That you feel you're the only one who can have him?"

"I told you, I love Keitaro and I want to see him."

"Really," Tsuruko arched an aristocratic eyebrow, "So you wouldn't go back to treating him like dirt? The beatings, the accusations, the attitude..."

"Motoko isn't any better!" Naru snapped back, seeming to forget who she was talking to.

"My sister's faults are her own, faults that she is finally beginning to overcome - with Keitaro's help, no less. She admits her mistakes and he accepts them, as he admits his flaws and she is learning to accept them."

"But he said he loved me!" Naru actually stomped her foot on the ground to emphasis this statement, the childish display not helping her argument in Tsuruko's eyes.

"After you had already harmed him enough to require visitation to a hospital, despite his impressive endurance and healing and your response was to leave not only the room, but the Hinata itself and the city without saying anything back to him about your own feelings. It is too late for you to have a change of heart in the matter, Narusagawa-san."

"Get out of my way," Naru demanded, clenching her fist as she took a step forward, her emotions getting the better of her once again.

In response Tsuruko drew her sword and held it in a loose stance, "My brother-in-law to be has made his choice, Narusagawa-san. Tomorrow is his wedding day and if you are as intelligent as you are claimed to be, you will do nothing, you will say nothing. Do not be mistaken by my harsh methods, my first goal is always my little sister's happiness and Keitaro-san makes her happy, I will not let you interfere with that."

Growling lowly, Naru took another step forward, which turned out to be a mistake.

"Lesser Air-Cutting Flash!" Tsuruko announced, charging her sword with ki as she swung it, the torrent of wind created by the swing lifting the younger girl up into the air and sending her flying away.

Tsuruko turned around and slid her katana back into its sheath before starting up the steps, there was much to do.

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Author's Note; Inspirational thanks go to The Shirelles for their song 'Foolish Little Girl' and the band Gloriana for their song '(Kissed You) Good Night'. Originally, this was just going to be a short with 'Foolish Little Girl', then the question of how they reached that point without the challenge and the Hina Blade and such being part of it popped up, which led to 'Good Night' sticking its nose in and it just grew from there...


End file.
